For an artist, Kent’s expenses
were often considerable. For many years he was the sole source of
support for Kathleen and their five children, as well as for his second
wife, Frances and her son, Dickie. The cost of maintaining Asgaard was
always an ongoing drain on his resources.

Commercial work often kept Kent solvent. Most jobs were a financial
boon, but an artistic bane:

“I support myself by turning my hand to the production of almost
every lowdown job that commerce, the great prostituting patron of
the arts, demands. How I hate all that.”

On occasion, fine art did combine with commerce. In 1927–28 Kent
completed three canvases for Steinway and Sons, inspired by music of
the masters, including Rachmaninoff’s “Russian Mass.”

One of Kent’s last lucrative commercial clients was General Electric. His
painting of a solitary farmhouse on a winter’s night was reproduced in
GE’s 1946 calendar and proved so popular that he was asked to provide
another for the following year.

In January of 1946, workers at GE’s plant in Schenectady, New York,
went on strike. They invited Kent to join their picket line. Well aware that
his appearance on the line could cost him his commission, Kent braved
bitter cold and supported the strikers. GE officials looking on were not
amused and tried to cancel his contract. Kent threatened a lawsuit and
GE accepted his painting of a Christmas celebration on a village green.

Thinking that the “picket” fence that enclosed the common was suggestive,
GE executives asked Kent to remove it. Kent stood firmly on artistic
grounds and the “picket” fence stayed.